For The Heroes
by IronAmerica
Summary: Charlie feels her soul shatter day by day. AU; tag to episode 8 and For the Faithful. (First in the For the Faithful series.)


Hey, it's a new story! Strausser will use any means necessary to capture Miles.

Un-beta'ed, so quibble away.

Please exercise caution while reading this story, as it contains content that may be triggering for some readers as it strongly implies rape.

- o – o -

For the Heroes

_Day one:_

Charlie feels the bullet rip through her leg as they run for the gate. She stumbles and falls to the ground, covering her head in a feeble attempt to protect herself from more bullets. Miles sees her and his eyes widen in shock as he sees her lying on the pavement. Charlie screams at him to run, run as fast as he can, to get away! She screams again, this time in fear, as she feels hands pulling her to her feet, dragging her away from her uncle, her family.

She's spun around to look at her captors. Militia soldiers pin her arms to her side, and Charlie can't stop herself from shaking in fear. Their leader approaches her, a cruel smile on his face.

"You look like your little brother."

Charlie quails as he pulls a lock of hair towards him, tries not to let her fear show as he sniffs deeply.

"You smell like him: Delicious. _Innocent…_"

Charlie tries to kick him, and gets hit across the face for her trouble.

_Day two:_

Charlie bites Strausser when he tries to give her a drink from his canteen. He kicks her, and drags her out of the cell by her hair. Charlie fights him every inch of the way. There's no way she's letting this bastard take her anywhere. She stops fighting when he holds a serrated knife to her throat, and threatens to kill her. He smiles and licks the side of her face.

"Your brother showed less fear," the sergeant tells her, tossing her into another room. There's a large bed in there. Charlie begins fighting back on instinct, knowing, somehow, what's coming. Strausser has to hit her across the face and her nose breaks before she stops struggling.

Charlie focuses on Danny, and how they're going to find a farm somewhere far from the Monroe Republic as Sergeant Strausser pushes her face down into the plush mattress. She plans crop rotations that won't aggravate her little brother's asthma, and how large a greenhouse she'll need to keep the Jimson Weed that Maggie used to make Danny's medicine growing year-round as her captor pulls her pants down.

Charlie screams as Strausser presses himself down on top of her.

_Day three:_

Strausser takes the rest of her clothing before he locks the manacles around her wrists. Charlie is numb as he drags her outside by the chain between the cuffs. She doesn't notice that she's naked, or that there's dried blood and other fluids on her thighs and legs. The young woman is trying to cut herself off from the pain. She feels guilty that she can do that, because Danny can't do the same. Strausser cut her hair yesterday, before the second round, telling her he preferred his conquests with an entirely different set of traits. He has to make do with her, but at least she looks like her brother.

She looks around when Strausser finally leaves her side. She's chained to an iron ring in the middle of the bridge. There are sharpshooters with the strange guns perched up in the crossbeams. One of them is leering down at her. Charlie bows her head, wishing her hair was still long enough to hide her face, because she can't hold back her tears.

"Miles! Miles, won't you give yourself up for your niece?!"

Charlie flinches as Strausser calls for her uncle to come save her. She prays he doesn't come. Uncle Miles has to rescue Danny. She's secondary to that goal. He needs Nora more than he needs her at the moment. Charlie's shoulders shake as she hears Strausser yelling, for everyone to hear, how she willingly gave herself over.

She's left on the bridge until well after dark. Strausser wipes her tears away, and Charlie bites his thumb hard enough to draw blood.

The new bruise is worth it.

_Day four:_

Sergeant Strausser is almost cordial to her after the night on the bridge, and what happened afterwards in his room, when he called her Danny, again. Charlie curls up in her seat, knees drawn up to her chest to preserve her modesty as much as possible. He pulls her out of the room and into a washroom, and helps her into a steaming bath. Strausser rubs something soothing into her back, and talks gently about…something. Charlie drifts off, phasing out of touch with reality as he rubs soap into her hair, washing the grime away.

Charlie nearly flies out of the bath and manages to put Strausser in a headlock when he gets a little too familiar with her. She knows he's already taken as much as he wants, more than he ever should have been able to, but… But there's still _some_ pride left in her. She gives him a black eye before he manages to subdue her again.

He's not gentle anymore, and he holds her head under the bathwater until her vision begins to grey at the edges and she stops struggling. Strausser takes her again on the bathroom floor. He compliments her again, and compares her to Danny.

Charlie kicks him between the legs for that comment. He knocks her out. Charlie wakes tied to one of the crossbeams by a long rope. If she moves her arms, she'll choke herself. If she moves her neck, she'll cut off circulation to her wrists. As much as she hates it, the young woman has to admit that Strausser's a master at torture.

She sees her uncle, she thinks, just beyond the fence protecting the border. Charlie stands a little straighter, jaw set. She hopes he continues to stay away. She needs him to rescue her little brother.

She needs him to kill Strausser for touching Danny.

_Day five:_

Charlie sits in Strausser's quarters, staring defiantly back at the man through two swollen eyes. Her uncle stayed away last night. She has bruises around her wrists and neck, and her lower lip is swollen. A cut bisects her left eyebrow.

Strausser has a bloody nose, a black eye, and a large collection of bite marks. He toasts her with his mug of coffee. Charlie gives him a rude gesture. Strausser just smiles and goes back to eating breakfast. Charlie thinks it says something that her stomach doesn't growl—she's finally _glad_ that she spent so many winters in her village, starving. It's getting close to winter anyways, so she's in survival mode.

After he's finished eating, the sergeant pushes the scraps over to her. Charlie stares at them for a moment, then looks up at Strausser.

"What do you want?" she asks. Her voice is raspy from screaming and general lack of use. Strausser smiles at her.

"Can't have you dying before your uncle gives in," he says sweetly. Charlie manages not to throw up until she's back in her cell.

Winter is starving time. She's used to that.

_Day six:_

Charlie sees her uncle standing at the gate to the border. His eyes are shadowed. Nora is with him. So is Aaron. Charlie begs them, silently, to leave. She wishes she could talk, or do something more than whimper and grunt, but Strausser's wedged her mouth open with some sort of gag. Her throat is sore from the early-morning abuse Strausser inflicted on her, and her mouth is drying out. Charlie wonders if she can choke to death like this. She probably can.

She's kneeling on the pavement this time, hands tied behind her back and to her ankles. Strausser is efficient when it comes to displaying her in humiliating poses. Charlie wants to kill him. She sighs in annoyance as her uncle tries to move forward. At least he has Aaron and Nora to keep him sensible.

The young woman laughs around her gag. Hunger and pain and the soul-shattering torture Strausser is putting her through are making her loopy. She thinks Miles, her uncle who is so good at killing, needs protecting. Strausser is far too good at his job.

She hates him. She hopes he dies. She hopes she's the one who kills him.

_Day seven:_

Strausser doesn't collect her until the next morning. Charlie whimpers in agony as he releases her from the stress position. He massages her knees gently until she can uncurl them, and pulls the gag out, massaging the stiffness out of her jaw with gentle motions. He does the same for her wrists and shoulders, speaking so softly and gently to her about the Lighted Time. Charlie curls up against him as he carries her back to his room, sobbing in self-loathing as she reacts to his touch. She's half-frozen and everything hurts so much and he's being so kind…

Charlie lets him touch her and closes her eyes to pretend that it's someone, _anyone_ else. She imagines Jason caressing her breasts, her belly, going lower. Charlie arches into the touch, and sobs brokenly after Strausser finishes.

He hits her for calling out Jason's name.

Charlie thinks the punishment is worth it.

_Day eight:_

Miles is captured eight days after Charlie. Strausser brings him into the room where Charlie is curled up on a thin mattress. He drops to his knees beside her and cradles her in his arms, oh so gently. Charlie looks up at him, tears leaking out from the corners of her swollen, blackened eyes. He was supposed to stay away. He was supposed to rescue Danny.

Charlie gasps in pain as Strausser picks her up, bridal style. Uncle Miles is led out of the room after them. Charlie sees Aaron, fighting back against his guards. His nose is bleeding freely, and his glasses are dangling from one ear. He's back to back with Nora when Strausser stops. The sergeant laughs as he watches Aaron and Nora fighting against their captors.

She's almost grateful when Sergeant Strausser gives her a pair of blue overalls and a hat, and doesn't complain when she finally realizes he's not giving her a shirt. At least it's clothing. She pulls them on as fast as possible, tripping in her haste to just cover up, to hide herself. Charlie has to roll the cuffs on the pants' legs up six times before the tips of her feet peek out. Nora uses her hair tie to keep the straps from falling off Charlie's shoulders.

Miles spends more time with Strausser than Charlie did as they're escorted to a rail station in a town called Greensburg. Charlie thinks she understands when Miles comes back from a visit with the man, when they're shoved into a cattle car on the train. He looks beaten and bone-weary

She stops involving him in her escape plans.

Strausser has her brought to his car a few hours before they arrive in Philadelphia. He cuts her hair again, gently this time. Charlie finally asks the one question that's been gnawing away at her since he mentioned Danny.

"Did Danny fight back when you raped him?"

Strausser laughs. "I've never even met the boy," he admits. "But," he adds in a dark whisper, his breath hot and moist on her ear, "I'm looking forward to it."

Charlie breaks Strausser's nose, and adds sixteen new bruises to her personal collection.

- o – o -

So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Hoping Charlie kills Strausser at some point in the very near future? Drop a line and let me know.

Author's note: This is a prequel to For the Faithful. These stories, and other potential pieces in the same series, are the replacements for episode 8. Let's face it: I didn't like Mia. (Which was probably the point, but still.)

Author's note 2: 56K! WOOOOOOO! (I'm beginning to write new fic so I don't burn out on NaNo at this leg of the race. Any requests? I can try to fill them.)


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